


Hell Week

by Tommykaine



Category: Original Work
Genre: Ableist Language, Bugs & Insects, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Hazing, Horror, Minor Character Death, Not recommended if you have a fear of bugs, UST, Violence, Vomiting, mild nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13421523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tommykaine/pseuds/Tommykaine
Summary: Hi, my name is Chelsea Robinson, and I am sooo lucky to be in the best sorority ever!And the best thing is that real soon we get to initiate the new pledges! I can't wait for my Little to be a real Delta.//(A horror tale set in a sorority.  Mainly I wanted to make a horror story taking place in a seemingly “cheerful” setting rather than a typical spooky one.)





	Hell Week

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 8th edition of the COW-T by LandeDiFandom, for the prompt “Cerimonia” (Ceremony) & for the 8th edition of the Maritombola also by LandeDiFandom, for the prompt “Tacchi a spillo” (Stiletto heels).
> 
> I am from a country where the Greek Life is not really a thing, so all I learned was from internet research! Don't take this story as me wanting to accurately represent this topic (I'm sure I got something wrong!), it's very much intended to have a semiserious vibe, in the vein of things like Jennifer's Body.

Hi, my name is Chelsea Robinson, and I am sooo lucky to be in the best sorority ever!

And the best thing is that real soon we get to initiate the new pledges! I can't wait for my Little to be a real Delta.

My Little is like, the cutest. Her name is Clara, and she's so tiny, like a pretty little fairy. She's super skinny and has long jet black hair, it's so smooth and straight that everytime I braid it it's like, totally straight again before I know it. It's like she's part Asian or something, but Renfield isn't a very Asian name, and she has green eyes - asians can't have green eyes right? 

Well anyway, she's just so perf, I knew she was gonna be my little as soon as I first saw her during rush. She was so shy at first, but we like, hit it off right away. She told me all sorts of things about her life, her plans for the future and stuff. She's such a smart cookie, she wants to be a lawyer and like, have her own firm and everything. Isn't that the coolest? 

I just knew that she'd be perfect for DED (that's Delta Epsilon Delta of course), so when she pledged I was like, oh I totally have to be her Big Sister. Which if you don't know what that is, it's basically like, a mentor, except better. You always get one when you're new, and she's another girl who's been in Delta for longer than you and can teach you all sorts of stuff about the sisterhood and also other things like makeup and clothes and all the cool places to go hang around college. 

I'm pretty sure she was also glad cause when we had the reveal, which is pretty much this thing where all pledges get to meet their Big and get a cool basket of presents and everything – not to brag, but I think mine was the best. I got her tons of cute things like, matching shirts and a plushie with her name, a full set of makeup, and the prettiest pair of stiletto pumps with our sorority initials on the counter. 

Anyway! When we had the reveal she was so excited she cried, and she wouldn't stop hugging me, and then she was all flustered cause she got tears all over my blue dress which is admittedly a bitch to clean up cause it's dry clean only, but I didn't mind cause she was just so cute I could just eat her up right away.

That night we went in my room to hang out and have a girls night alone, and after we opened up the champagne (which was also in the basket) I learned she's actually a real chatterbox when she's tipsy. I even found out she's never even had a boyfriend, like, ever! All of the guys around her must be blind or something, cause that's just insane. She's just so adorable, especially when she's all giggly and defenseless like that. In fact I kinda had to hold back from making a move on her and pounce her, just cause I didn't want to freak her out.

I'm sure the frats here are gonna be all around her, especially at parties, but they better watch out cause if some guy makes her cry I'm totally gonna kill him. Like, for real.

 

She's so cute tho even when she cries, which she did a lot this week at first. I felt kinda bad cause I had to be so mean to her and like, I totally didn't want to! But it's the rules, you know?

 

I mean, yeah, it is against the school rules technically, cause we're not supposed to haze, but there's a reason why they call it Hell Week, duh! 

Besides, we all had to go through it, and it's not like you can't say no, but if you really wanna be in Delta, you'll do it. Besides, it's so worth it! Getting to be a Delta is like, so much more than just fun and duties. We all share a special bond, forever, so like, we have to make sure if pledges are ready to commit to be our sisters.

I wasn't too worried about Clara, cause I knew she could make it. I mean, hello, she's my Little! I wouldn't have chosen some loser to be my sister. Like, I have standards. She might look harmless but she's like a kitten: underneath all the cuteness, she's got sharp claws.

 

Day one wasn't that bad. Once all the pledges had transferred in our sorority house, we had movie night and threw a pajama party, so they would all sleep in the same room. Then, once they were asleep, we sneaked in and locked the doors, then pulled away all of their duvets to shake them awake, lining them up in the middle of the room. 

It was pitch black since the lights weren't on, and we were all wearing masks, so they couldn't tell us apart. We all started singing the DED chant as we surrounded them, then one by one they had to keep it going, without missing a word. Everytime one of them messed up, we would squirt water on her from a bottle, and proceed with the next one, starting over again until they all had memorized it.

Once it was over, the lights went back on and we poured all the leftover water on the floor. The girls who were the most drenched up had to take off their shirt and use it to soak it all up, wringing it into  
a bucket we had prepared on one side of the room. None of them complained too much except for Stacey, a tall redhead who's always all prissy and snobbish, and who said she “didn't come here to be treated like a servant”. So she just stood aside and glared, except once the other four girls were done we told her she'd now have to drink from the bucket.

It was like, a total mess. She cried and screamed at us a lot, so we were like, fine, get out and pack your things, and then she like, totally flipped out. She was like, oh I'm gonna tell on you, which really wasn't cool, so Lucy (her Big, who is in Maths class with me) stepped in.

“Alright Stacey, go on and tell on us, and then I'll tell Professor Seward about you cheating on his test” she said, and Stacey was so red you couldn't even see her freckles anymore, but she didn't say anything. She definitely was pissed tho, and kept making a scene, like she kept retching and sobbing as if we were trying to poison her or something.

We didn't see her again the next day so I guess she ditched us. I kinda felt bad for Lucy but she didn't seem so upset. Like, I'd be super sad if my Little just gave up after the first day, but I guess she hadn't liked hers all that much anyway, so whatever. I didn't care that much anyway cause I was checking on Clara, she was a bit quiet all day and seemed kind of upset, even if she didn't do bad. She hadn't even had to take her shirt off or anything.

It wasn't like we wanted to be mean to Stacey, but she had to go and be a total bitch, you know? You can't mess with your sisters like that. Which I also told Clara, of course, cause I mean she didn't have to be nervous. If she didn't do some stupid shit like that no one was going to do anything bad.

Well, not too bad, but of course I didn't tell her that.

 

On day two we waited after classes, then we told them all to take a shower and get dressed, then come all in the same room again and bring makeup, which we examined first thing right before their face. We had cleanser tissues in case anyone cheated, cause we all had to be “au natural” - or whatever you spell that, including us, but we only had to get rid of a bit of concealer under one girl's eyes – can't really blame her, tho, what with those eye bags! Poor thing has a serious case of raccoon eyes.

We could tell they were nervous after last time, but really there was nothing to be scared of just yet. 

We first told them to first do our makeup, so that they could like get the hang of it and relax a bit. I knew Clara was still a bit worried cause she kinda poked my eye with the mascara brush and almost had a heart attack, but I just laughed it off so she started chilling.

Honestly we all looked pretty dope, so I was like, super impressed. I was living for Mina's winged eyes, her Little is really a pro!

Then came the real tricky part: we told them they'd each have to do their own make-up now, to which raccoon girl (I think she's called Jenna?) replied that she first needed her mirror back, but we all giggled.

“Oh sweetie no, no mirrors allowed in Delta!” said Lucy with a cheshire grin, shaking the bag with the confiscated mirrors and throwing it out of the window, to which they all gasped as if they'd just seen a ghost. “better make it good hun, cause you're gonna be stuck wearing it all day!”

Poor girl looked like Lucy had just kicked her puppy, and I had to bite my cheeks not to laugh in her face. Her expression was just was sooo priceless! Now they were all getting nervous again, but we didn't give them time to protest cause they'd only have an hour to get all ready. 

“Trust me girls, you're gonna be glad for the practice in a few weeks” I assured them, but mostly they just glared at me. Jeez, talk about ungrateful!

All in all it wasn't too bad, half of the girls looked quite decent. Clara's eyeliner was still fierce, if a bit shaky. Her lipstick tho, girl that was tragic!

“Alright pledges, that's it!” announced Mina, snatching the brush from her Little. There was quite a struggle as we got them to put all down and they tried to still get it finished. Kathy was running around in circles trying to catch her Little as she only had one lash on and had just put the glue on the second, and Clara got a few minutes on me cause got me with setting spray like a mace. It burned like hell but I was low-key impressed so I couldn't really be mad.

“Bye girls, have a good time!”

“Bye bye!” 

“Don't be back before ten!” 

“Make sure to get plenty of selfies!”

We pretty much kicked them out of the house, as we promised. We knew they couldn't cheat cause they had to take pics too, at least six, and all in different places around campus. It used to be that we'd have to take one with a professor, too, but one time Mr. Harker got way too suspicious cause like, three different pledges did that and we almost got an investigation. We're so lucky our principal's an ex Delta cause that would totally have ruined our initiation that year!

 

Day three was the first time we brought them to the woods – which is actually like, more like a park surrounding the school. 

We waited till night, so it would be all dark and no one would see us sneak out, then we all went one by one and told them to walk around alone. We'd taken away their cellphones, so they couldn't like, use them as torches or call each other, and got them each a bag with which they had to go and catch bugs. 

“You have to catch at least twenty, and they've gotta be alive.” I told Clara, and she was like, totally disgusted of course, but she didn't cry. I remember I cried a whole lot when I was told had to do that, so she's like, pretty brave. “Once you're done you've got to howl real loud, okay? Just like a wolf, AWHOO!” I showed her, throwing my head back as I let out a deep, wolf-like howl, which really starled her. “Just like that, and you'll all do the same, so like, you gotta find each other. It's like a scavenger hunt, except better,”

I reassured her some more, then sent her off, promising I would give her a prize if she got more than the others. I saw her take a few steps, walking unsteadily in her high heels, careful to not trip on some root or anything like that. It had just rained too, just a few hours earlier, so she would have gotten mud all over if she fell down. I'm sure she was glad they got told to all wear black, cause that would be hell to clean on bright colours. 

“Hey, Chel, what if we don't...find each other?” she turned around to ask, gasping in surprise when she didn't see me there. “Chelsea??” 

I looked down at her from my hiding spot, hiding my face with my hand cause I didn't want her to like, see my teeth and spot me as I had the biggest grin on my face right then. That totally gave me a spook too, when I was a pledge, except I had freaked out so bad I'd ended up falling into a bush which was like, super embarassing thinking about it now, since my Big must have seen that. Stacey must have laughed her ass off, that bitch!

I followed her around, of course. I didn't really want her to get lost, and like, what if she got caught? I didn't think she would tattle on us, but you know, plus I'd feel so bad to get her in trouble. Besides, she could have gotten hurt or something. I'd never leave my Little in danger. That'd be so mean!

She just kind of wandered around at first, getting used to the dark I think. Then she finally started to look for bugs. She's kind of lucky that it rained, cause it's so much easier to find like, snails and stuff, and no one's gonna be horny enough to hide there for a quickie so she wasn't gonna walk into, like, some frat guy getting a bj in the bushes – which totally happened one year, or so says Mina at least.

It took her like an hour, and by that point she had already slipped on the grass twice, once cause her heel got stuck in a root, and once cause someone else started howling – I think it was raccoon girl – and she got so startled she lost her balance and fell on her ass. 

Once she got all she needed, she started howling too, altho that sounded more like a Chihuahua than a wolf. By that point there were several of them calling out for each other, and so she tentatively moved in that general direction, slipping up a couple more times but she'd gotten more used to the dark, so she could like, grab onto the nearest tree instead of falling on her knees. She's so adaptive, really! I'm super proud.

Eventually she reached most of the others and they all grouped up by the pond, still howling from time to time to help the last one of them who was still out there, a small blonde who had been mostly quiet on the other days. Connie, Mindy, or something like that.

Well she wasn't all that quiet this time, in fact she was screaming like a banshee rather than howling, and kinda looked like one too. She was like, a total mess, even her hair was all sticky with mud, and her feet were all scratched up cause she had no shoes on anymore. 

“OH MY GOD IT'S FOLLOWING ME! IT'S FOLLOWING ME!” she kept screaming, running up to the others and grabbing onto the nearest girl, making them all panic.

“What?! What is it??” 

“Connie that's not funny!”

“I'M NOT JOKING! LOOK!” she yelled out, pointing behind her, and they all went real quiet. There was nothing there tho, so after a while she stopped shaking and just kinda sniffled quietly. 

“I know what I've seen” she insisted, wiping mascara streaks away from her cheeks with her hand. “it was following me. It was like right behind me”.

“It probably was just an owl or something” another girl reassured her, but she didn't seem to want to calm down.

I knew that was just the right time to step in, so I did. 

“There you are!” I said, all chipper-like and smiling, coming out of the woods and stalking towards them as they all jumped in fear. I pretended like I didn't notice that, but I was gloating on the inside cause I had never been the one making the surprise entrance before, so I think I did pretty well.

I could see my other sisters come out of the woods around them, surrounding them again. The poor pledges were all huddled together like sheep, and some were even holding each other to feel safer.

“So did you do good?” I asked, walking up to Clara first and reaching out with my hand, waiting for her to give me the bag. She had gathered quite the stash, all crawling around at the bottom as they tried to escape. I smiled happily at her, pulling her in for a hug, which she was quite hesitant about but didn't struggle. I think I must have spooked her a little at this point, which made me a bit sad, but I knew it'd all be fine in the end so I didn't show it. 

“That's amazing! Oh I'm so proud of you!” I cooed, stroking her soft hair. It was so fluffy, like a cute little bunny, so I almost wanted to dig into it with my nails but I didn't want to freak her out even more. “Now let's see how you all did! Show me your bags, girls”

I went around to check on the inside of their bags, encouraging each pledge and praising the ones that did like really well. Most of them only barely got to 20, but some of them had like 40 or so, which was quite a lot more than I expected.

Then I finally went up to Connie, who was trying to kinda hide behind another girl and hiding her hands behind her back. I stared at her for like a minute as she looked down at the tip of my shoes, shaking like she was freezing. Well maybe she was, I mean none of them had jackets, but I knew why she was so quiet.

“Where is your bag, Connie?”

“I... I... d... it....” she mumbled quietly, and I clicked my tongue at her in disapproval.

“Speak up!”

“I-I d-dropped it!” she whimpered, withdrawing back from me and slouching her shoulders, which made her look even smaller. “I-I was r-running and...and it fell and I... I couldn't catch it! there was something following me! I swear! I'll- mpfh!”

“Shush!” I pinched her mouth shut with my fingers, feeling more warm tears roll down her cheek. Her eyeliner was so runny it looked like her eyes had been melting. Jeez. 

I made a face at Tammy, her Big, and she smiled at me and batted her lashes at me as if she was totally innocent. Getting her Little in trouble to play a prank was like, a total bitch move already, but she didn't even get her the waterproof stuff. That was such a lack of committment, I wasn't even in the mood to be hard on her girl. But that's the rules, and like, I didn't want to look bad either since that was my first time being in charge. So I just sighed and shook my head.

“It's alright, Connie, don't cry” I said in the most reassuring tone I could put on, patting her head. “I know you tried your best...” 

She looked up at me with relief, smiling weakly. 

“...but just 'trying' isn't gonna cut it in Delta”.

Before she could even say a thing I had snatched up Clara's bag, pulling it over her head, the bugs cascading all over her. There was like, a half-split second of silence before she let out the most bloodcurdling scream, tearing it away and patting at her hair and clothes as if it had caught on fire, making all the girls around her run away to avoid catching the bugs as she swatted them. Too bad for her, cause the more she kept jumping around like a spastic the more spiders and worms and all sorts of gross creatures kept falling under her clothes. I'm pretty sure I saw a centipede fall straight into her bra.

“THEY'RE ALL OVER MEEE!!!” 

I kinda felt bad for her, but honestly, I'm mostly glad it wasn't Clara. I'm sure she would have hated me and like, it's not like I could blame her, but I didn't decide the rules you know? 

Speaking of which, she was totally pale and seemed pretty shaken, which got me worried. 

“Come on, let's go wash up” I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back to the house. She didn't say a thing but she followed me, so at least she didn't seem to be angry at me. 

I didn't even care if the others were coming too or not, I just wanted to make sure she'd be ok. 

 

“Here, take my bodywash. Do you like cherries?” I asked her, handing her a hot pink bottle. She just nodded, and started taking off her clothes. 

I had gotten her into my bathroom, and decided we were gonna have a sleepover so that we could like, talk about things. So first thing I'd help her freshen up, since she did spend hours catching bugs in a muddy park.

“How come I've got mud up to my knees, and you're still looking perfect?” she finally asked, breaking her silence. 

“Oh that's like, top secret info! If I told you I would have kill you, you know!” 

That got her to laugh, so at least she was starting to relax around me again. Thank God!

“No but really, which of you had the bright idea to make us wear heels in the woods? I was afraid I would break my ankle or something.” she complained, getting into the bathtub and meddling with the water faucet to get the temperature right. 

“I know, right!? I was like, are you freaking kidding me when I had to do that. Plus I broke my fave pair of shoes, I was so pissed!” I replied as I took off my black top, throwing it onto the floor. “And I felt like a total idiot when I had to howl. Like, what is this, are we ten or something?” my skirt and underwear (which was also black) soon joined the top, and I kicked off my (also black) shoes.

“So you had to do this too?” she asked, taking the showerhead and rinsing herself off, closing her eyes to not get water in them. I kinda took advantage of that to get a good look at her figure. Just as I thought, she was really thin, and she did pad her bra. Her skin was so pale that her nipples were bright pink.

“Oh yeah! It totally sucked” I said, stepping into the bathtub to join her. “But that's Hell Week for you. And trust me, it's gonna be so worth it in the end. You're gonna be glad you did it.”

She just made a small thoughtful noise at that, glancing at me as she started to soap up. She seemed lost in thought for a while. Then she squinted and moved closer, moving away my blonde hair to stare at my shoulder.

“How did you get that scar?” she asked, her hand already halfway towards me before she stopped herself. I smiled and guided her hand towards it, allowing her to touch it. She was so warm it kinda made me shiver, which I hoped she wouldn't notice.

“That's top secret too” I replied, booping her on the nose. “You know what? I'm gonna tell you... after the initiation. So you gotta do your best, ok?”

She pouted a bit, so I started tickling her, and she started laughing and thrashing around, splashing water everywhere.

“Ah! You bitch!”

I kinda forgot that she still had the showerhead, so she got back at me by hitting me with a full water jet in the face and I had to call time-out cause I couldn't see a thing. 

“Jeez, I thought I was gonna go blind!” I complained, sticking out my tongue at her, so she blasted me with water again “HEY!”

“That's payback for Monday. You got me in the face too!”

“That wasn't on purpose!”

“Yeah right!”

We went back and forth a bit, then I noted that since she was clean enough to not mud it up we could also take a proper bath, which we did. 

We didn't talk much, but we did wash each other's back, and I got to massage her hair too. It was kind of bad to have her face so close to mine, cause I was super tempted to just lean in and go for the kill.

We stayed in so long her fingers were all pruny, but at least now she smelled like cherry instead of like, wet dog. I lent her one of my pajamas for the night, and we went to bed.

“Hope you don't mind sharing a bed. I mean, I can just sleep on the floor if that's a problem”

“Chelsea, we were naked in the same room just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh yeah, point taken. Night then!”

I slipped under the covers with her, turning around and closing my eyes. I wasn't really sleeping tho, so I could hear from her breath that she was still awake for a while.

“...Chelsea?”

“Yeah?”

“I... uhm... well, nevermind.”

“Oh come on, what's up?”

A small sigh, then finally it came.

“...you know, what happened today... what you did to Connie... what if it had been me?”

I knew that was gonna come up. I kinda hoped it, actually.

I turned around, holding my head up on my arm and looking at her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, a small grin on my lips.

“I knew you wouldn't. You're way too cool to get scared of the dark.” I told her, and it wasn't a lie. I was sure she was gonna make it. I knew it since the first time I talked to her. She was total Delta material. “I trust you, Clara. So please, I know it's gonna be hard, but please trust me too. It's gonna be so worth it. I swear it!”

She didn't say anything for a bit.

“Promise me you'll tell me about the scar, then?”

“Of course! I super duper promise! Cross my heart and hope to die, I'll tell you everything. Alright?” 

“...alright.”

“Yay!”

I leaned in to give her a brief kiss on the cheek, right next to the small mole under her right eye, then turned around again to hide the biggest grin on my face.

I couldn't wait for the initiation.

 

The next morning was the fourth day, and actually nothing much happened except we got all the pledges together again to tell them they'd all be fasting until Sunday's ceremony. A couple girls whined a bit but at this point I think they knew it didn't matter. Connie didn't even say anything but she just looked at me like she wanted to kill me.

We had some sisters keep an eye on them so they wouldn't cheat, but no one even tried. After the lessons I went to look for Clara to study together, also cause she'd have to study up for the entrance exam which was on Saturday. Since she's really smart, she actually didn't need much help tho, which I was kinda envious about. I'm so terrible with like dates and names, I thought I was gonna flunk it when I had to do that!

 

Friday was a whole other story. A couple girls had tried to sneak in sandwiches so they got stuck with cleaning duty for the rest of the week as punishment. I heard raccoon girl got cranky and lashed out on her Big too. They all cheered up a bit tho when Lucy told them there was gonna be a surprise midnight snack. 

“Alright girls, let's go!” she said once it was time, leading them all to the usual room as she started chanting. “Here we come and here we go, clap your hands and start the show! D is the dream that never ends, clap your hands and make good friends!”

“E like Everyone's here to-day, clap your hands hip-hip hooray!”

“D is for Dancing all the time, clap your hands and make it shine!”

“Delta, Epsilon, coming through! You better be ready cause we're coming for you!”

“GOOO, DELTA!”

By that point they'd all pretty much gotten it perfect, or well almost. I did practice with Clara a lot cause her timing kinda sucked, but I think she got it now. 

“Here we go girls, grab your cups cause you're gonna get shots!” said Mina, handing out small plastic cups as they all entered while I went to get the Vodka. Lucy got them all to sit in order by names around a pink box in the middle of the room, and we each went to stand close to our Littles.

“You have to take a shot with each one, right away.” she explained, while I filled all the cups with alcohol. “One at a time girls. We're starting with Aisha.” she gestured towards the tallest of the pledges, a gorgeous brunette with the deepest brown eyes and like the sharpest eyebrows ever. “Bon appetit!” 

Aisha uncovered the box right away, and instantly dropped it with a shriek.

All the girls recoiled in horror, spilling up some of the cups. The bottom of the box was swarming with all of the bugs they had caught – except Clara's of course – and honestly it kinda made me shiver too. 

I remember when I had to do this too. I really wish I didn't.

“It's six rounds for everyone – but if anyone pukes, you all keep going until the box is empty” Lucy threatened, sounding way too gleeful. You could totally tell she was hoping for that to happen. Not to be mean but Lucy's kind of a bitch sometimes.

“If anyone pukes I will kill them” I whispered into Clara's ear, squeezing her hand in reassurance. She grasped on it as if her life depended on it, but didn't say anything. I knew she could do it, but I didn't know about the others. Raccoon girl already looked as if she was gonna be sick.

“Come on Aisha! Dig in!” Lucy insisted. The girl looked at us in panic, like she hoped we were gonna tell her it was all some sort of joke, but no one said a word. 

At last she closed her eyes, making a small whiny sound with her nose and grasping her cup, then she went straight for it. She didn't even look at it before throwing it in her mouth and chewing like there was no tomorrow, all the while making more and more disgusted noises, then she gulped down the Vodka and slammed the cup on the floor. “Euugh!”

“Damn girl!” went her Big, hugging her from behind and grinning widely. “That's the spirit!”

We all clapped and cheered on her, while she clenched her teeth and raised the cup for another shot. 

“Come on, you can do it” I whispered to Clara, who was up next. “It's much more scary if you think about it. Just pretend like it's popcorn or something.”

I heard her swallow loudly, then she slowly let go of my hand.

“It better be fucking worth it” she hissed, and dunked her hand into the box, taking out a small earthworm and giving it a shake before eating it, chewing as fast as she could before downing her shot, slamming her cup down too. 

“There! One down, five to go!” she said, looking up at Lucy. I couldn't really see her face from behind but I'm pretty sure she was grinning, cause Lucy's smile faltered a bit.

“You're so amazing!” I cooed, but didn't hug her cause I was too tempted to do something regrettable already.

Instead I glanced at Connie, who was not looking good, like, at all. Her blue eyes were so big – like they are, but I mean that they were wide open – and she was clenching her hands super hard, I think to hide the fact that they were shaking.

So like, she didn't look good. Like at all.

“Come on” I could hear her Big, which was Mina, whisper. “It's not really that bad you know, it kinda tastes l...”

“No!” Connie cried out, withdrawing from her. “I can't! I can't do it!”

“Come on sweetie, you've probably eaten some already yesterday anyway, what's one more gotta change?” said Lucy, stalking towards her.

“I just can't! I have an insect phobia! Please, I'll scrub the toilets every week, I'll wash the floors, anything! Just don't make me touch them again!” she begged, looking like she was just about to cry.

“Oh dearie, that's what sisters are for: helping each other when we're struggling with hard things” said Lucy, glancing up at Mina, who nodded briefly and restrained the girl, which made her start shrieking.

“NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“We're just helping our sister out” replied Lucy, refilling Connie's cup – since it had spilled when she kicked it by accident – and dunking a spider in it “Open wide!”

“NOOO!”

Connie pressed her lips together, trying to shake Mina off of her, but she was way too small to even give her a hard time. So then Lucy went and pinched her nose, and she tried so hard to resist she was turning bright red, but as soon as she opened her mouth to breathe Lucy dumped the spider-Vodka in her mouth, almost making her choke on it.

“There, that wasn't so hard, right?” Lucy let go of her nose, looking towards the next girl. “Your turn, Jenna”

A couple other girls hesitated a bit after that, but no one dared to refuse. I kept glancing back at Connie who wasn't saying anything but was kinda rocking on the spot and shuddering from time to time, while Mina was looking more and more worried. 

We just had gotten to the second round when Connie started retching, keeping her hands on her mouth to hold it in. I crossed my fingers that she would make it, but when it was her turn again she just keeled over and sicked all over the floor.

Lucy's grin grew even wider than before. 

“Sorry girls, looks like there's gonna be no leftovers allowed”

 

The sixth day came, and most of the girls looked like they were totally done. 

None of them even said a word let alone complain when we grouped them up again, they just gave us kind of a panicked look as if to beg for mercy. 

Even Clara seemed tired, but she'd spent most of the night crying in my bed while I kept stroking her hair, so it was not really a shock. I was pretty mad at Lucy, but also at Connie. I was kind of expecting she'd be gone honestly, but she was pulling through. 

This time actually it was gonna be a one at a time kinda deal, so none of them knew what was coming, and none of them were allowed to tell once they got out.

“Can you believe it's already Saturday? Only one more day till you're a full-on Delta” I told Clara as she walked in, trying to make her feel a bit better as I helped her put on a sleeping mask and took her hand, guiding her inside the dark room until she was in front of a table. “So there's a bowl there. You have to put your hand in it and take one piece. Just one is enough.” I explained. “No bugs this time, I swear it!”

She grimaced at me, but slowly stretched out her arm, shaking a bit. She gasped as her fingers brushed on something wet and sticky, but forced herself to go on. She picked up a a piece of raw meat, so fresh it was still dripping blood, and hesitated for a few seconds. She lifted her head, I think to try and peek at it, but of course she couldn't see a thing. 

With a loud sigh, she brought it to her mouth and started chewing, furrowing her brows and shuddering again. I was a bit worried she was gonna sick on me, but she just kept chewing slowly, a few drops of blood spilling from her lips. 

I sighed in relief. She had made it.

At that point the only things left were the test the next morning - which as I thought she aced easily - and finally, on Sunday night, the initiation.

 

“Oh, you've gotta pick this one! It's gonna look sooo good with the shoes!” 

I keep staring at her, just in awe. I can't believe how well this dress looks on her, it's like it was custom made. It's a simple greek style white dress with one shoulder strap, with pearls accentuating the waistline, but she make it look stunning.

“Are you sure you want to get it for me? This looks expensive” her tone is slightly worried, but I can tell she loves it cause she's beaming. 

I'm so glad to see her look excited for the night now, cause she was still sulking this morning. Bringing her shopping for the big night was a great idea! We're gonna do each other's hair and make-up later, and maybe if there's still time then nails too.

I already know what to wear, but I can't help looking around too cause I just love this shop. They even do bridal clothes! If I were to get married, I'd totally get my dress here. 

Well, if I could I would do that, at least.

 

It doesn't take much time to do her hair, cause it's just so silky and perfect. I'm so jealous! When it comes to mine, it takes us almost a full hour cause it's just so big and curly. She's pretty good at it, tho, she doesn't pull on my roots even once when brushing it and when she helps me get it up in an updo and stick flower-shaped hairpins in it to keep it in place.

She's insisted to try and do her own makeup first, but she still can't get her lipstick right, so I have to retouch it.

“Do you really do all this without a mirror all the time? How even?” she asks me, pouting a bit.

“It's just practice. Don't worry, you'll learn too” I assure her, lifting her chin with my fingers to make sure I didn't mess up anything. I glance down at her necklace, which has Delta's letters on it, but I have to look away real quick before my eyes wander too much.

We've barely got any time left to do our nails, so we just go for something natural, and as she waits for hers to dry out I take out the stiletto heels I had gotten for her and kneel down to slip her feet in each one of them, making sure my hand and eyes both stay firmly below her ankles. It's so close... I can barely stop myself, but I don't want her running off on me.

 

“You ready?” I ask as I hold her hand, unlocking the door and guiding her down the staircase that leads to the basement. 

“Yeah!” she smiles at me, and I swoon a little. 

This is it, finally. I think I'm almost as nervous as she is, altho I do remember how nervewracking it to be in that position.

Once we get inside, Mina hands us both a candle and we go join the others who are forming a circle around the room. We wait some time until everyone's arrived, then finally Lucy steps up.

“Welcome to the initiation, sisters. When I call for your names, please come forward.”

Most of the ceremony goes on without a hitch. We practice our chants, we teach the new sisters about the significance of the name and our symbols (the key stands for eternal flow of life, the phoenix stands for rebirth, the flowers for friendships and finally the skull stands for secrets held until death).

We each teach our new sisters the secret handshake and passwords, and then we present them with a brooch, which we pin on their ceremonial dress.

All the new girls seem so happy to be finally a part of Delta, but I know it's not actually over. Not until the final trial.

Just as if she'd been reading my mind, Lucy calls for silence, walking towards the center of the room. Nobody makes a sound as we all wait for her to speak.

“Sisters, today you all will be born anew and begin a new life. But... alas, there can be no rebirth without a sacrifice” she announces, looking all around. 

All of the new girls start murmuring, worried, but she shuts them up again.

“One of you has been chosen” she says, and I cross my fingers. Thankfully, her gaze only stop on Clara for a brief second, before setting on the one next to her. “Connie, please step forward”.

Everyone turns to look at her, and I know what's coming. 

I just Clara doesn't disappoint me just now.

“Wh-what's going on?” asks Connie, but no one answers. With a look of resignation, she walks up to Lucy. She seems extremely uncomfortable, and it's not like I can blame her. The worst is just about to come.

“I'm sorry Connie, but your time at Delta ends now” continues Lucy, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

The poor girl barely has time to register it as a sharp blade digs into her side, a large stain of red blossoming right under it like a deadly flower.

“Ah...what...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Nobody says a thing. Not even I. 

I just slip my knife into Clara's hand, and push her forward.

She looks at Lucy in panic, then at me. I silently nod, and all the blood drains from her face.

She knows what to do. I can only pray that she's ready.

“Clara!?” Connie looks at her with terror, taking a step back and falling down on her dress, tears streaming down her face. “Clara...please”

“Remember... you promised” Clara looks back at me again, and I raise my pinky. She holds her breath, closing her eyes for a second.

Then she goes on in for the kill.

 

Everyone takes turns to deliver their strike, some with hesitation, and some almost a bit too eager. I think at this point they all know that if it's not her, it's gonna be them.

By the time they're all done, the poor girl is writhing on the floor, and their clothes are all tinged in red.

Clara steps forwards towards me as she drops her knife, as if the gravity of what just has happened had just befallen her.

“It's ok, Clara, don't worry” I whisper to her, taking her into my arms as I hold her, brushing her hair away from her neck. My mouth lingers on her skin, and I can just smell the blood pulsing underneath as I unsheath my fangs. “We're gonna be besties forever.”


End file.
